My 97 3.2TL's fan under the hood turns on as soon as I press the a/c button. When I first got the car a few months ago I thought there was a problem with a relay or something since it would turn on on really cold days. But after searching the forum I found that this is supposed to be normal for these cars and is done to protect the head.

Well my TL's radiator fan also turns after 10mins of normal driving. As soon as I slow down and stop at a light the fan starts up. Start driving again and it turns off, and as soon as I stop again the fan turns on. Pretty annoying since the fans are loud. (My temp gauge is also in the normal range) I hooked up my obdII reader and noticed that the gauge is fine and the fans start up at around 200 degrees. I'm assuming this heavy radiator fan activity is also normal for our cars?

And the last thing that has got me thinking there might be a problem is that after driving for about 30mins, after I turn off the car, the electric fan will turn on and stay on for 10-20mins. I know cars, especially hondas, will do this but only on super hot days and after driving for hours. But my car does this under normal driving of about 30mins on 65degree days.
I was thinking about changing the thermostat. Would this help?

Thanks a lot

 

My bet would be on bad coolant. Try getting a flush and see if that solves the problem.

 

Its normal, its an 'overkill' design to prevent head damage as you discovered. Stop and go traffic puts a lot of stress on engines, so the fan will turn on, especially on a hot day. Even on days where the temperature is 65 and pleasant, the fan will come on at times. I'd get a coolant change if its not been done in the past 2 years just to be safe.

 

Ya I'm not too worried bout the stop and go fan activity. I was thinking more about the fan being on after I turn off the car. So the TL needs that much overkill protection to where the fan turns on after the engine is turned off? Guess I better get used to it even though its really annoying having a car with the fan on in the garage for almost 20 mins.
I don't know if the coolant has been changed in the past 2 years but it does have that new and fresh look to it. I will do a flush and add some water wetter to the new coolant mixture. Hope it works.
Thanks again

 

No problem.. its a good kind of overkill to prevent blown head gaskets, the Legends had that problem until Honda re-designed the fans to be more temperature sensitive.

 

ken is right... seems like TLs do not have as many BHG problems as the Legends...

 

when i first got my TL back in november 2005 i posted something of the same sort here. I noticed my fan would stay on for 15 minutes or so after i turn my car off. and this happens EVERY TIME i turn it off. and yes its loud! i went to get an oil change at the dealer (im lazy and $22 isnt bad for the oil change from a dealer) and they do there little tests on the oils and coolant ect. he did a ph test and my coolant is fine he said. ill prolly get it done at 75,000 miles along with the brake fluid and power steering. anyways i say your fine and everythings normal.

 

its normal as they say, it turns on when you slow down because u dont have air flow through the radiator/condesor, when you speed up air flow picks up, then the fans turn off. stays on afterwards so the coolant can be cooled down, and not just si8t there.